December 2007

Dear Editor:

Your articles about Alternative Dispute Resolution in Nevada courts (October 2007) provided valuable information, but I would like to add one more program to your list:  Senior Judge Settlement Program.

Under the Senior Justice and Judge Program, administered by the Administrative Office of the Courts, senior judges generally are assigned to sit when district judges are absent or unable to preside over cases.  Some senior judges currently also preside over Drug Courts and Mental Health Courts in several districts, including the Second and Eighth Judicial District Courts.

Senior judges also have been sitting as settlement judges in cases pending before the District Court.  If parties to a case wish to have a senior judge conduct a settlement conference, the parties can stipulate to the assignment and the District Court judge will make the request.  Under new protocols, the parties may ask for a particular senior judge (or one of several).  However, assignment of the requested judge is not guaranteed since assignment is based upon many factors.  There is no cost to the parties for use of a senior judge for settlement purposes.

In Clark County, the senior judges have been used for a couple of years to conduct short trials/settlements in Family Court.  The success rate this year in those cases is about 85 percent.  The Eighth Judicial District Court has also utilized the senior judges successfully in week-long civil settlement assignments.

Those currently commissioned as senior judges include: Deborah Agosti, Jack Ames, Archie Blake, Joseph Bonaventure, Peter Breen, James Brennan, Noel Manoukian, Terrance Marren, John McGroarty, Robert Rose, Norman Robison, Miriam Shearing, and J. Charles Thompson.

If you have any questions about the program, please contact Margaret Evans, Senior Justice and Judge Program Coordinator, AOC, 775-684-1762.

Sincerely,

Mark Gibbons

Vice-Chief Justice

Nevada Supreme Court